Merseyside Police firearms officer 'drank wine' during shift

PC Daniel Johnson is accused of a string of unacceptable acts amounting to serious misconduct

Merseyside Police firearms officer 'drank wine in pub' during shift

Bookmark

A Merseyside Police firearms officer allegedly drank wine while on-duty and stole from his employer.

PC Daniel Johnson, 43, had lunch with his wife and allegedly drank wine at the The Jug and Bottle pub in Heswall on April 30 2021 - the same day he was supposed to be serving an 8am-4pm shift as an on-call firearms officer. According to CCTV footage, he left the pub at around 1.20pm and returned with his friends at 3.25pm, and allegedly continued to drink alcohol.

He appeared at a misconduct hearing at Merseyside Police headquarters today, May 13, where he was accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour with regards to honesty and integrity, equality and diversity, orders and instructions, duties and responsibilities, and general conduct.

READ MORE: Dad found himself in court after chasing off home invader

READ MORE: Dodgy Amazon Fire TV Stick crackdown could lead to home raids

Representing Merseyside Police, barrister Barney Branston said: "This officer was a firearms officer. He was on duty that day. Had he been called that day, he would have been severely compromised. He nevertheless chose to drink on duty as if it was a day of annual leave. This officer's decision to drink alcohol at all while on duty shows a startling lack of diligence in his duties."

He said PC Johnson maintained that the wine on his table belonged to his wife, and that he had been drinking lemonade during his shift - but the force argued against this.

The PC also stands accused of stealing from the force and sending homophobic and racist messages to fellow officers.

On August 4 2021, it is alleged he stole two battering rams from Smithdown Lane station as he "thought they would be helpful to weigh down his parasol at home". When confronted, PC Johnson claimed "it was common knowledge that the items were used for scrap", and that other officers had also helped themselves to pieces of equipment - however, the sergeant in charge said he had never given anyone permission to do so.

Mr Branston said: "The officer took an opportunistic gamble when he saw the saw the enforcers and simply took them without bothering to confirm whether or not he was allowed to do so. He knew full well he shouldn't have done so, and therefore his was dishonest."

It is alleged the officer also stole a saw blade from a police storage room on August 5 2021. He said he intended to return it, but was unable to do so due to a period of paternity leave starting August 25 - though Mr Branston said he "had always intended to keep the blade", as he had attended eight separate shifts before his leave period and had not returned it.

PC Johnson was put under investigation by Merseyside Police, and his mobile phone was seized.

On March 12 2019, PC Johnson sent a text message to a fellow officer describing two senior colleagues as "two p***s together". PC Daniel Johnson allegedly maintained "he was in no way homophobic" adding "it was simply a common term he used to describe anyone he thought was weak". In his defence, the 43-year-old firearms officer "provided texts of him and his wife using the word in other contexts".

On May 2 that same year, he used WhatsApp to send a picture of a woman in traditional Islamic clothing on a fairground ride, along with the words "detonator bombs away". Mr Branston said the officer later claimed he had shared the image because he thought it was "in bad taste".

The hearing continues.

Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the Echo Daily newsletter here

Story Saved
You can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.